Eye Care Tips to Prevent Vision Loss

Many eye problems are associated with years of fixed gazing - staring straight ahead at a computer screen, or a book, or TV. Our ancestors on the other hand spent centuries viewing a wide landscape from a distance - searching for food sources and avoiding predators.

But modern life dictates that we most often fix our gaze straight ahead, often looking at screens. This overtaxes the eyes, creates eye strain, and can lead to permanent ocular damage.

There's good news, you can ease eye strain and have healthier vision. Although the eye muscles are very tiny, they are still muscles. This means we can exercise the eyes in a similar fashion to any part of the body.

If you've ever noticed your eyes feeling tired after watching too much TV? This is why.

Here are a few tips:

Take several breaks throughout the day where you close your eyes for at least five minutes. It takes five minutes for the photo receptors in your eyes to regenerate. But this process requires total darkness. Purchasing an eye pillow, which rests on the closed eyes and sometimes contains calming herbs such as lavender, can enhance the experience. Or consider trying an audiobook, where you can literally read with your eyes closed! (Audible.com makes downloading audiobooks easy)

Palming is a simple method for resting the eyes. Rub your hands together to create some heat. Then, make a cup shape with your palms and rest them over your eyes. Lean your elbows on a desk or table so you can lean into the palms with the weight of your head. Apply some pressure around the eyes, but never against the eyeball itself.

Look up and scan around throughout the day. Gaze out the window, take a short walk, and spend time during your breaks using your long range and periphery vision. There are many ways to incorporate this technique into your daily life. Just take a few minutes throughout the day to enjoy the scenery or stare up at the vast sky.

Practice using your periphery vision by blocking your central vision with your hand in front of your face. Then try to look at objects to your side without turning your head.

Ease up on your central vision during your free time. If your job stresses your central vision (for example you work on the computer) don't spend all your leisure time doing activities that further stress your vision. If you are on the computer all engage in leisure activities that don't require looking at a screen.

Try to limit time staring at computer screens. The eye is unable to understand the depth of a computer pixel. This means that the eye is constantly adjusting in and out when looking at a screen. This is one of the biggest stressors to the eyes in modern life. Take this into consideration when contemplating buying electronic reading devices. Although reading still uses close range, central vision, the eye can detect depth of field on the printed page. This makes reading an "old fashioned" book or magazine easier on the eyes.